1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to method for making urethane molded products for polishing pad which are provided for polishing articles to be polished such as semiconductor devices, and also to urethane molded products for polishing pad.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Polishing pads used for semiconductor devices and glasses are known, including those pads of the porous non-woven fabric type obtained by applying a polyurethane solution to a non-woven fabric as set out in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 64-58475 and of the foamed polyurethane type which is obtained by wet molding of a polyurethane solution. Both types of pads have a structure which is provided with cellular holes on the surface thereof, and thus, are a good property of holding an article to be polished at the time of polishing and are able to favorably retain a supplied grain solution (polishing slurry) therein. However, these pads are disadvantageous in that they are too soft to cause compressive deformation on use, poor in flatness of the surface of a polished article obtained by polishing, and short in life of the polishing pad.
In recent years, as semiconductor devices are highly integrated, an interconnection pattern on a substrate is more densified, under which there is a strong demand for flatness on a substrate surface as influencing the transfer of a pattern. In order to provide a more flattened wafer surface of a semiconductor substrate, there has been adopted a chemical mechanical polishing process (abbreviated as CMP process) wherein a chemical function and a mechanical function are combined. It has been demanded to develop a polishing pad which is suitably applicable to such CMP process.
For instance, Japanese Laid-open Patent No. Hei 8-500622 discloses a polishing pad which comprises a plurality of polymeric fine elements, such as expanded microballoons, in a polyurethane matrix. The pad has a high surface hardness, so that it is more unlikely to cause compressive deformation than such a non-woven or foamed polyurethane-type polishing pad as mentioned above, thereby ensuring a high polishing rate and a good flatness. However, only one type of the expanded microballoons are mentioned as the polymeric fine elements used. When used as a polishing pad, the cells derived from the microballoons are allowed to open at the surface of the polishing pad, and abrasive grains are held at the opened cells to ensure high polishing rate. Nevertheless, a good flatness of a polished article can not be obtained by this prior invention in which only one type of the microballoons is used.